Meat Consumption, Meat Cooking and Risk of Lung Cancer Among Uruguayan Men

A case-control study was conducted in Uruguay, including 876 male cases of lung cancer and 876 malehospitalized controls, frequency matched for age (ten-year intervals), residence and hospital. The followingexplanatory variables were included in the study: fried red meat, barbecued red meat, boiled red meat, andsalted red meat. These items were log transformed and energy-adjusted by the residuals method. The followingpotential confounders were included into the models: age, residence, hospital, education, family history of lungcancer, body mass index, smoking index, alcohol drinking, mate consumption, total energy intake, non-meatfatty foods and total fruits. The main objective was to estimate the odds ratios associated with lung cancer risk.Whereas fried meat, barbecued meat, and salted meat were positively associated with risk (OR of the highestquartile of salted meat versus the lowest, 2.90, 95 % CI 1.99-4.25, p-value for trend <0.0001), boiled red meatwas mainly protective. We conclude that salted meat was the main risk factor. The mechanisms could be relatedto the content of N-nitroso compounds in salted meat.